Muddy Waters

McKinley Morganfield (April 4, 1913 – April 30, 1983), better known as Muddy Waters was an American <a href="/facts/Blues/f2WSr9QQ">blues</a> <a href="/facts/Singer-songwriter/Wn2wodaL">singer-songwriter</a> and musician who was an important figure in the post-World War II blues scene, and is often cited as the "father of modern <a href="/facts/Chicago_blues/SmblyhSr">Chicago blues</a>". His style of playing has been described as "raining down <a href="/facts/Mississippi_Delta/fFJLMN5t">Delta</a> beatitude".
Muddy Waters grew up on <a href="/facts/Stovall,_Mississippi/FGpqq8To">Stovall Plantation</a> near <a href="/facts/Clarksdale,_Mississippi/4WrUBFDc">Clarksdale, Mississippi</a>, and by age 17 was playing the guitar and the <a href="/facts/Harmonica/hTDf00bt">harmonica</a>, copying local blues artists <a href="/facts/Son_House/jq1IGQYa">Son House</a> and <a href="/facts/Robert_Johnson/C3jpPnQ0">Robert Johnson</a>. In 1941, <a href="/facts/Alan_Lomax/y1Mllqub">Alan Lomax</a> and Professor <a href="/facts/John_W._Work_III/2TQPB10y">John W. Work III</a> of <a href="/facts/Fisk_University/EAH8qgfQ">Fisk University</a> recorded him in Mississippi for the <a href="/facts/Library_of_Congress/TfB6dEN5">Library of Congress</a>. In 1943, he moved to Chicago to become a full-time professional musician. In 1946, he recorded his first records for <a href="/facts/Columbia_Records/yV1YYE69">Columbia Records</a> and then for <a href="/facts/Aristocrat_Records/70jy12n2">Aristocrat Records</a>, a newly formed label run by brothers <a href="/facts/Leonard_Chess/oIdd1edq">Leonard</a> and <a href="/facts/Phil_Chess/MP45SNWM">Phil Chess</a>.
In the early 1950s, Muddy Waters and his band—<a href="/facts/Little_Walter_Jacobs/XvooWXGN">Little Walter Jacobs</a> on harmonica, <a href="/facts/Jimmy_Rogers/3FuhrCd7">Jimmy Rogers</a> on guitar, <a href="/facts/Elga_Edmonds/m24Y3SsX">Elga Edmonds</a> (also known as Elgin Evans) on drums and <a href="/facts/Otis_Spann/PKrV1t4G">Otis Spann</a> on piano—recorded several songs that became blues classics, some with the bassist and songwriter <a href="/facts/Willie_Dixon/hAC1jt30">Willie Dixon</a>. These songs included "<a href="/facts/Hoochie_Coochie_Man/S4syWUVX">Hoochie Coochie Man</a>," "<a href="/facts/I_Just_Want_to_Make_Love_to_You/RQsgwloK">I Just Want to Make Love to You</a>" and "<a href="/facts/I%27m_Ready_(Muddy_Waters_song)/Q2r2nsr4">I'm Ready</a>". In 1958, he traveled to England, laying the foundations of the resurgence of interest in the blues there. His performance at the <a href="/facts/Newport_Jazz_Festival/Lo9755vB">Newport Jazz Festival</a> in 1960 was recorded and released as his first live album, <a href="/facts/At_Newport_1960/NMCgz2Qt">At Newport 1960</a>.
Muddy Waters' music has influenced various <a href="/facts/Music_of_the_United_States/jEE0JFKm">American music</a> genres, including <a href="/facts/Rock_and_roll/hNDC5KwW">rock and roll</a> and subsequently <a href="/facts/Rock_music/zBM2guyQ">rock</a>.

Muddy Waters open-in-new

Muddy Waters